Effingham County Sheriff's Office reports

June 11Simple batteryDeputies were called to a Clyo home shortly before midnight, and a woman said she and her husband had been arguing earlier in the evening, prompting a call then for deputies. After the deputies for that call left, she said her husband was walking around in the yard with a knife, making threats. Deputies looked for him but did not find him. The woman decided to take her children and the other occupants of the house to a hotel for safety. The woman continued to try to lessen the situation’s severity and take up for her husband. Her son said that his mother’s husband is mentally unstable and capable of hurting someone when is impaired or angry.

June 12DUIWeaving over roadwayA deputy was on 4th Street in Rincon when the vehicle’s driver in front of him began to apply the brakes for no apparent reason. Another car in front of that car was not staying in its lane and continued to go across the center line. The deputy eventually passed the vehicle in front of him when it was safe to get behind the car in front. He pulled that car over and as the driver rolled down the window, he said he could smell “various odors.” The driver said she had not been drinking but her eyes appeared glassy and her pupils were enlarged. Her speech also was slurred heavily.

She said she was trying to find her boyfriend because he had not returned home, and she was trying to find his cousin’s home because he was not answering his phone. She also said she was planning on going to his friend’s house to see if he was there but did not where that house was. The deputy asked her if she was driving over the lanes and onto the shoulder of the road because she was texting or trying to find a street. She replied she did not know that’s how she was driving.

After several field sobriety tests, she was asked about the pieces of tobacco and the empty “blunt” wrappers. She explained her boyfriend and others had been in her car smoking marijuana while she was in Florida for the weekend.

June 13Terroristic threats and actsSimple battery and family violenceDeputies were called to a Springfield home about a domestic dispute after a woman said her husband was threatening her with a gun. The deputy talked to the husband, who was visibly intoxicated, and the deputy could smell alcohol on his breath. The husband said he was arguing with his wife over finances. The deputy was informed about a .38-caliber handgun, and he removed five rounds from its cylinder. The husband then gave conflicting stories about the gun.

The wife returned home, and deputies noticed a red, raised mark on her right cheek. She told deputies her husband had been drunk and angry and threatened to break her neck. She said he slapped her when she tried to leave earlier. The wife also told deputies that she recorded part of what happened on her cell phone, and there also was home security system footage. Deputies listened to the cell phone audio and could hear the husband say he would “snap your (expletive) neck” and “they’ll never find the body.”

The wife was given information on Safe Haven and instructed to leave the residence for the night. She also was requested to contact the ECSO and have them at the house when she removed the rest of her belongings.

Theft by taking - misdemeanorA Rincon woman said someone had been stealing all of her mail on a daily basis and she suspected it was her daughter’s doing. She was advised to speak with the postmaster about the thefts and to talk with the courts about warrants and temporary protective orders.

June 14DUIWeaving over the roadwayPossession of an open alcohol containerA deputy had stopped to aid another deputy who had a subject flee on a traffic stop when another vehicle went past. The deputy caught up to that vehicle, finding it in a ditch. The driver said he missed his turn and went into the ditch, telling the deputy, “I’m drunk, take me to jail.” There was a strong odor of alcohol and the deputy checked on the passenger, a 17-year-old female, who also had a strong odor of alcohol. There was an open container of beer in the cup holder, and another open can of beer on the right rear floor. A breathalyzer test later showed his blood alcohol level to be .172.

Reckless drivingJust after 2 a.m., a deputy saw a pickup on Old Dixie Highway fail to make a complete stop at an intersection, continuing at a high rate of speed, and as he increased speed to initiate a traffic stop, the pickup driver also accelerated. The deputy hit 95 mph in the pursuit as the pickup braked erratically and failed to stay in its lane.

The pickup driver turned into an overgrown hunting trail, put the truck in park and shut off the lights. The deputy turned on his spotlight, and the driver put the pickup into drive and headed into the woods. The deputy hesitated to make sure his car could navigate the terrain and then continued into the woods. He found the truck about 200 yards later, with the windows rolled down, the keys in the ignition and a cell phone still plugged into a car charger. Also found was a handgun and an open car of beer still cold to the touch.

Deputies went to a residence where the driver had been at a party drinking, but nobody there knew he had left. Deputies made contact with the driver’s mother, and they came to the sheriff’s office later that day. The driver admitted to drinking and driving and said he was trying to evade the deputy. He said he knew it was law enforcement when the deputy was closing in on him at a high rate of speed.